The USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance Class of 2025 | Photo by Benjamin Peralta

Here at the USC Glorya Kaufman School of Dance, my schedule is pretty hectic. As a BFA student, I have a schedule filled with many dance and academic classes. This is a day in my life as a first year at USC Kaufman!

I start my day by waking up at 7:15 am every day. After I get ready, I meet up with a few other USC Kaufman students who live in my dorm, Parkside Arts & Humanities Residential College. We then head to Tutor Hall Café to pick up breakfast. Following breakfast, I begin my walk to the Glorya Kaufman International Dance Center.

Morning Schedule Breakdown:

Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays:

9:00 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.: Ballet Technique
10:30 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.: Contemporary

Tuesday/Thursdays:

9:00 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.: African/Drumming
10:30 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.: Hip-Hop

Fridays only:

10:30 a.m.- 11:50 a.m.: Classical Partnering

Morning classes

My mornings are filled with all of my technique classes. First-year students have the opportunity to choose if they want to take ballet five days a week or take a cross-technique class on Tuesdays and Thursdays. This year’s cross-technique class is African Dance and Drumming with Professor Anindo Marshall. This semester, I chose to take African Dance due to its unique curriculum. The class focuses on the importance and understanding of African culture. Not only do we learn the traditional dances, we also learn about the rhythm behind the dances and the importance of drumming in the African traditions.

Following this amazing class, I head to hip-hop with Professor d. Sabela grimes. In this class, we focus on the foundation and roots of hip-hop. Then on Fridays, first year dancers have classical partnering with Professor Bruce McCormick. Here, we explore communication, trust and respect between each other while learning how to move in space together as one.

Members of the USC Kaufman Class of 2025 at Fall 2021 Convocation | Photo by Gus Ruelas

Afternoon Schedule Breakdown:

Mondays:

11:50 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Lunch
2:00 p.m.- 4:50 p.m.: Repertory & Performance
5:00 p.m. – 6:40 p.m.: World Perspectives 0n Dance Performance

Tuesdays and Thursdays:

11:50 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.: Lunch
12:30 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.: First-Year Seminar (GESM)
2:00 p.m. – 3:20 p.m.: Conditioning for Dancers
3:30 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.: Improvisation & Composition

Wednesdays:

11:50 a.m.- 2:00 p.m.: Lunch
2:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.: Repertory & Performance
5:00 p.m. – 5:50 p.m.: Colloquium

Fridays:

11:50 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.: Lunch
2:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.: Repertory & Performance
5:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m.: Repertory & Performance (rehearsals)

Afternoon classes

After my morning technique classes I head to lunch. I usually walk to the USC Village to grab a bite to eat and find a nice quiet place to study. First-year students at USC are required to take a General Education Seminar (GESM) class. I chose to take GESM 120g: Reading “Black Love.” In this class, we look through the eyes of African American authors and anthropologists to understand “Black Love.” Due to COVID-19, the class is taught asynchronously, so I will quickly eat my lunch and either work on the class on the patio right outside of USC Kaufman or in the Collaboration Space.

When I finish eating my lunch and my work for my GESM, I head to the rest of my evening classes. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, I have Repertory & Performance, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have Conditioning for Dancers and Improvisation & Composition. On Monday evenings, I have World Perspectives on Dance Performance with Professor Achinta S. McDaniel, and on Wednesday evenings I have Colloquium with Professor Bruce McCormick. These classes are some of my favorites. They not only are very informative, but they allow me to discuss many important topics with my peers. Once I am finished with all of my classes for the day, I usually head to dinner at Parkside Dining Hall. After dinner, I walk back to my dorm and begin my assigned homework for the day. After I finish all of my assigned work I start winding down to get ready for the next day!

Future opportunities at USC

My schedule will begin to change significantly throughout my years at USC Kaufman. In the near future, I plan on minoring in Communications at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. I have always been interested in social media advertising and broadcasting, and I hope one day I will be able to combine both social media and broadcasting with dance. USC offers this opportunity to explore my other passions with its wide variety of resources and helpful counselors. I know my schedule will begin to get even more hectic, but that’s the best part about being a USC Kaufman student. There is always something to do!

By Onye Stevenson (BFA ’25)